The Yeti Experiment
by MihoAnsatsu
Summary: Jaxx somehow gets his hands on Tiwi, much to Kalindra's despise, and decides to run some tests on him. Note: This fic gets a little grimdark, so viewer discretion is advised to be on the safe side.


"I _told_ you, I wasn't wandering the sewers to spy on you. My child was spooked during a recent fight and he chose the sewers as his hiding place."

It wasn't often that the likes of the Frozn delved into the lower 'levels' of Clint City, yet Kalindra found herself at the hands of the GHEIST and still without her son; having been involved in clan combat against the Nightmare, Tiwi had indeed been rather scared of the ghosts and ghoulies and fear had got the best of him.

However, it seemed a certain, gentleman scientist and his lumbering associate (it was the kindest way to say 'lackey') were nothing but wary of her intentions.

"I hate to call you a liar, but we've had no children wander the sewers."

"I wasn't just referring to _human_ children," she retorted, holding back the small, victorious smirk she could feel forming on her face.

"Ah. I guess you would mean this little runt then."

Watching Jaxx give a nod to the bulky male in his vicinity, Kalindra couldn't help but feel a sigh of relief escape her when she noticed Tiwi in Mok's arms; breaking free from the GHEIST's grip as soon as he saw his mother, he zipped up her back and clung onto the female as if he couldn't bear to be away from her ever again. Gently yet protectively holding him close as he buried his head against her neck, Kalindra couldn't help shooting a rather dark look in the scientist's direction.

"If you were wise, you wouldn't have been so quick to follow him like a mother hen, Ms...do you mountain cads even _have_ surnames? Though that's not important right now. What _is_ important...is that your infant interests me. I wish to study him. Run some tests, discover more about his poxy race."

"I'd watch your mouth if I were you," Kalindra snarled, almost sounding a little threatening. "You always pride yourself on being a proper gentleman, Jaxx. Would a proper gentleman subject an infant to his sick games?"

At that moment, the redhead found himself in a rare, moral dilemma; was he really heartless enough to run tests on a _child_? Soon realising he had his gas upon his person, Jaxx happily allowed the Xantiax to decide for him as he took a few, deep doses there and then.

And he also happily allowed the female to let her voice be heard again.

"Well, Jaxx, would you?"

Noticing the redhead slowly turning around, Kalindra couldn't help silently swearing to herself when he saw the familiar, slightly psychotic and Xantiax-induced look.

"Prepare the infant for testing," he commanded, with a sharp click of his fingers. "And Mr Mok, lock the old woman in the cells over there. I want her to enjoy the show, she might learn something."

"Hey, less of the old! I am a _leader_," she retorted, her motherly wrath kicking in as she struggled to hold her own against the lumbering, mutant-esque humanoid.

"I'm what they call legendary," he responded, obviously unphased by her retorts as he watched his associate lock up the female. However, he'd soon turned his attention to the younger Frozn.

"Don't look so worried," he said, his tone a weird mixture of gentleness and menace as he removed the young yeti's glasses. "We're going to have _fun_."

"Bite me!" Tiwi bravely exclaimed, flailing his chubby, little legs and just about managing to catch the redhead in the face with his sharp toenails.

Feeling a gasp escape her, Kalindra didn't know what worried her more; the damage her son had been able to do or how Jaxx would punish his burst of insolence.

"Oh, don't tempt me," he eventually said, licking the liquid scarlet that was trailing down his cheek and onto his lip. Suddenly forcing Tiwi's head onto the table, the scientist aimlessly reached for what looked like a scalpel; recoiling with an irritated wince when he accidentally caught his fingertip against the sharp edge, he soon had hold of the instrument despite being the trickle of blood running down his skin.

"Now, hold still and it'll make this so much easier."

As he gently slit the tender, blue flesh with the scalpel, it seemed he was also cutting into the little yeti's bravery; upon noticing the first tear escaped scared, young eyes, Jaxx took it upon himself to shut the crying yeti up with a sharp slap.

"Please," he hissed, managing another one of his slightly psychotic, trademark smiles. "You're acting as if I'm going to _kill_ you."

But the whole experience _was_ killing the yeti's mother; stuck in her cell and able to see what was happening, Kalindra couldn't help but feel useless as she failed to break through the cell bars after the first few punches. One blow from her articulated arm would usually do the trick, but it seemed the GHEIST had managed to shut down it's power source upon imprisoning her.

"What did you do to my arm, Jaxx!"

"Oh you can thank Mr Mok for that," he explained, giving the lumbering GHEIST a nod as he caught what looked like a pulsing, blue core. "He has a way of getting whatever I want, I mean, what he wants."

Sighing as she sat herself down rather heavily, Kalindra felt that if she was going to think of a way to help her son, she felt it best to conserve her energy. However, it was hard to concentrate when all she could feel was her son's winces of pain as the scientist finished his incision.

"So yetis bleed just like we do. Well there goes the rumour about the white blood that freezes at the touch," Jaxx commented, gently running his finger through the newly made wound; upon noticing a single, blue hair that remained on said finger, the scientist couldn't help but snarl a little at the fact the yeti had escaped a small amount of pain.

Then again, just one hair wasn't about to cut it, and he wasn't about to _cut_ any more that he needed; however, upon noticing a little too much blood escaping the scarlet wound, Jaxx could feel a guilty twinge in his chest. Sighing at his sudden burst of 'weakness', the redhead managed to locate what looked like a bandage, and was soon efficiently wrapping it around the yeti's tummy area.

Grabbing the scalpel once again, he then focused the sharp point near his subject's chest. Initially only needing the point to retrieve a few strands of fur, he managed to curb his curiosity about the creature's heart, yet fate decided otherwise; a sudden, shrill noise catching the scientist off guard, his grip on the instrument slipped as the metal made an incision near the rather fatal point. As the yeti began breathing as if finding it difficult to catch his breath, Jaxx managed to locate a rather 'off'-looking needle in his panic. Glancing at the horrified mother and glancing back at the struggling subject, he decided it best to inject the needle's contents into the gaping wound.

"See? He's only an infant and you're almost killing him!"

"Keyword, Ms Kalindra. _Almost_," he snarled, sounding slightly ecstatic in his psychotic state. Glancing at the needle he'd just picked up, he couldn't help but give the handle a slow, deliberate push as if to tease out the final drop of silver liquid; without a second's hesitation, he'd taken a taste of said drop, shuddering slightly as he did so.

"I hope you've gone and poisoned yourself," The female declared, rather loudly and deliberately.

"I barely think one drop is going to spell my death," Jaxx replied, actually sounding a little annoyed at the Frozn leader's constant interruptions. "Especially if it isn't poison in the first place."

"Then what is it?"

"Not poison."

She kept expecting him to turn around at any moment, psychotic grin on his face as he declared "I lied, it _is_ poison". Yet it seemed with every second, he was becoming more and more gentle with Tiwi; the Xantiax wearing off and allowing Jaxx peace of mind, she hoped the scientist wouldn't realise and make himself manic once again on a fresh dose.

"Though if you _really_ must know," he began, shooting her a somewhat dark look to rival the one she was directing at him. "It's a liquid silver that aids the healing process, so the aftermath of that little accident should cause minimal problem. We don't often use it because we GHEIST hate to show mercy but I'm true to my word. I said I wish to run some tests on your son, not kill him."

His words may have seemed earnest and Tiwi may have seemed calmer in his breathing, but Kalindra was right not to let a sigh of relief escape her when she heard the snigger that followed afterwards.

"Which is just as well because it means I can do whatever I want to this little runt, just as long as it doesn't kill him."

Gently yet firmly prising Tiwi from the table, Jaxx managed to keep a hold despite the initial flailing; smirking when the little yeti was soon too tired to resist, he couldn't help giving the furry, blue head a pat as he placed his subject back on the table.

"Loopholes, Ms Kalindra! Aren't they just truly wonderful!"

"Let me out of here, you little ponce!" She yelled, attempting to break the bars before realising that her articulated arm was still inactive; frantically fiddling with and pressing the buttons as if her life depended on it, she couldn't help sighing rather mournfully when she then remembered that the scientist had the power core, the only thing Tiwi had enabled to kick-start her arm.

"...brilliant."

"The liquid silver should have done it's job now. Mr Mok, if you could hand me the needle with the Xantian."

"Oh wow, _real_ original. Hit me with the Xantiab and the Xantias while you're at it."

"Excuse me?!"

Despite his weakness from the scientists' exploits, Tiwi was still able to show his rare spurts of 'fighting spirit', which often took the form of a rather sarcastic or insulting remark if he had no means of retrieving his inventions or weaponry.

Not even waiting for his subject to dare repeat his exclamation, Jaxx took a rather threatening step towards him, scalpel in hand as if ready to stab the yeti there and then.

"You hush your mouth, you bloody runt!"

However, he hadn't expected the little subject to grab what looked like a nearby canister to defend himself; the canister taking the instrument's sharp blow, Jaxx found his vision impaired for a split second as the gas billowed out as if every particle was in a mad rush to escape the rounded prison.

Not even noticing the seeping Xantio canister then roll past him, his rage had also blinded him from the fact that the blue core had rolled out of his pocket and into Kalindra's range of reach; swiping the power source and inserting it into her articulated arm before anyone could stop her, her little celebration was stopped short by the sight of her son almost suffocating to death as Jaxx had a rather tight grip on him.

"I wouldn't risk it, Ms Kalindra," he explained, his expression a weird, fury-filled pride as he leant the needle's point into the yeti's neck. "I swear, it'll mess him up so badly, he might as well be dead."

Noticing the fearful look of awe on her face, Jaxx felt a victorious snarl escape him, though worry soon flooded his emotions when the female began to move away from the bars step by hesitant step; glancing behind him to see what all the fuss was about, it seemed that the Xantio-serum's fumes had been too much for Mok as the lumbering figure behind them couldn't seem to tell friend from foe, if the dark stare at the redhead was anything to go by.

"Stand down, Mr Mok," he snarled, but the force had gone from his voice, and it had far from gone from his associate's punches; the force of the left hook enough to throw the scientist off his feet and into the metal table of chemicals where his experiments had been taking place. Feeling his head grow 'lighter' with every second, Jaxx could barely see for the blood that was heavily flowing down his face.

"My head's...bleeding again...Mr Wissenschaft."

Immediately dropping to the floor two seconds later and obviously out of it, Jaxx's 'defeat' had made Kalindra hesitant to try and blast her way through the bars; this was supposedly the guy who'd faced off against the entire Rescue clan and _survived_, and yet one punch from his clan mate had almost killed him. But then none of the Rescue had been pumped on Xantio-serum and none of them were nearly as big as Mok.

Noticing Tiwi's head appear from underneath the scientist's jacket, the female knew what she had to do; one powerful punch later, she'd broken free of the bars but had also attracted the attention of the raging Mok. Realising her boosted strength has returned thanks to the reinstalled power core, Kalindra was able to hit him where it hurt and gain a few precious seconds to rush over to the injured scientist.

"Jaxx," she began, only to be interrupted by his weak attempts to push her away; his strength so low that he loosened his grip on the yeti still in his hold, causing said yeti to wriggle free from beneath the jacket and grab onto his mother as if his life depended on it.

"Let me see you," she said to Tiwi, gently cupping her hands around his face as she checked for any truly threatening injuries. She couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief that he seemed alright despite his ordeal, yet there was little time to relax when she suddenly felt the force of what seemed like the instrument-filled table thrown at her; a jolt of pain surging through her stomach as it smashed her against the wall, she couldn't help gasping in shock when she noticed just how close one of the needles had been to poking through her flesh.

"Hey, no tables!" The yeti baby complained, yet he was wise enough not to retaliate physically.

"Whatever happened to the 'bigger they are, quicker it wears off' rule?" She said, managing to shake off her injury and pull the pointed instrument from her clothing . "This one's a _beast_."

"Momma, he's also stupid," Tiwi responded, locating his glasses and placing them gingerly upon the bridge of his nose. "I'm sure you could use that to your advantage...wait, I could distract him!"

"Tiwi, no!"

"Trust me, Momma," he said, beginning to dodge his way around the trashed laboratory. "I know what I'm doing. One punch from him would kill me but Jaxx would expect him to give his word too."

Watching her son dart around the hulk of a man despite his injuries, she couldn't help gasping when his swinging first caught the little foe off guard; though after a little dazed tottering, he was focused and running rings around the GHEIST member.

"Stand still, pest! Mok no hit blue rat when run around."

"Yeah, I think that's the _point_."

Noticing tiny, blue sparks hissing and jolting through her metallic fingers, Kalindra realised just why her son had been so insistent on being a target- the distraction was an opening to shock him into submission with that little spot of energy from her articulated arm. It was a little trick that drained both flesh and metal but a handy little trick to have, especially against bigger foes; many an opponent had taken one look at Kalindra and suspected the elderly female as easy bait, but she was a lot tougher and more gutsy than one initially expected.

Having grown sick of the younger Frozn keep dodging out of harm's way (Tiwi's injuries were catching up but the GHEIST was still far too slow in his punches), Mok's attention soon turned itself to the elder.

"Momma's turn." He snarled, sounding rather menacing as he took a heavy step towards her.

"You really don't know who you're dealing with, do you?" She asked, her genuine innocence and lack of fear in being the target causing a confused look on his face.

"Mok know who you are. You Frozn lady. Pathetic excuse for leader. Too weak to protect son, son who not even her own."

"Oh really?" She responded, a rare smirk forming on her face. "Though Frozn lady seems so dumbed down. Last time I checked, my name was Kalindra. But you may call me victorious."

At that moment, a great wave of what looked like sub-zero energy surged through the male's thick, leather-like skin, as Kalindra had grabbed hold of his shoulder in a rather unsuspecting manner (had she been cheekier, she may have grabbed..._somewhere else_). As he fell to the ground with a heavy thud, it seemed that one's GHEIST's fall was another's slow return to consciousness; holding his head in quite a pained way, Jaxx noticed the fallen Mok from the corner of his eye and couldn't help shuddering a little not only from rage, but from the blood that had been seeping into his line of vision.

"I'm going to kill that man," he snarled, yet the force had once again gone from his voice as he turned to face the two Frozn. "Yet you seem to have beaten me to it, Miss Kalindra."

"Oh I didn't kill him," she responded, finding no difficulty in looking him in the eye. "Wouldn't have made me any better than him. I just sent a little sub-zero energy through his system and knocked him out cold. He'll come round eventually, with the Xantiax's effects virtually gone."  
"But _how_..." he began, soon noticing the few stray sparks as a result of the leader's arm's 'cool down'; his attention fixated by the Frozn technology, especially that which had overcome one under the effects of his Xantiax, the redhead began to realise that he'd probably made the worst mistake in making an enemy in the icy clan. Then noticing the female gesturing for him to leave with them, he wondered what on earth she'd possibly want with him after all that had happened; the silence beginning to get a little tense as they navigated their way through the manky sewers, he realised that revenge was the most likely option, though he never would have thought Kalindra the type to issue it when her target was injured and weak.

"Is Mr Mok seriously going to be alright though?" He asked, his voice suddenly joining the echo of their footsteps as the only noises throughout the sewer. "He's not going to wake up and suddenly break everything?"

"Sub-zero energy is such that it temporarily freezes all sorts of processes and functions, but doesn't damage the organism in anyway," Tiwi slowly explained, hitching up his cracked glasses with his finger in a sort of know-it-all way. "Though with certain gases and compounds, this temporary freeze is enough to neutralise them. Don't ask me how, it's just the way it goes, but Xantiax is most likely one of those gases.

Jaxx didn't like the sound of that 'most likely' but he decided not to question it as the trio soon moved back to silence, though it wasn't long until they reached one of the black ladders that connected the GHEIST to the outside world, Upon climbing out of the open sewer hatch, the pair (Tiwi was sat on the female's shoulder, not having to put his feet on the ground) began to walk on in resumed silence; Jaxx once again breaking the tension after a few moments, as if he couldn't let a second burning question linger unanswered for much longer.

"So...why are you taking this bad man with you then? Dropping me off at the hospital so Anderson can have the time of his life 'taking care' of me?"

Without a moment's hesitation, Kalindra just smiled at the limping scientist and gently grasped his hand as they carried on walking.

"I...I could never forgive you for what you put my son through," she began, firmly yet gently. "But Jaxx, you really are a man of your word. Tiwi may be struggling, but he's still alive. So making sure you didn't lose your life at the expense of Mok going haywire seemed like an appropriate payback.'.

"But you're still taking me to the hospital, aren't you?"

"Well...yes and no. I'll tend to you on Mt Glatz whilst your, ahem, associate recovers from the sub zero's effects. But if I catch you scientists near my son or _any_ of my clan again, Jaxx...then I'm afraid no amount of promises and 'words' will save you from _my_ wrath..."


End file.
